“When Aqua Pennsylvania came here, we were a town without drinking water. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had shut down our drinking water system because of an organism in the water at the treatment plant. It took quite a while for the DEP, working with other potential buyers, to see if a water utility company would buy the system and do something with it.
At that time, Aqua was interested and their closest location was in Sharon, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles from here. Representatives from Aqua came to see the plant, find out what their investment would be, and then they chose to buy it.
There were about 400 homes here that needed water, and the system was well over 100 years old at that time. I’m sure Aqua knew they weren’t getting a good bargain—they knew there would need to be major effort on their part to bring the system up-to-date.
Immediately once Aqua completed the acquisition, they provided drinking water to the community through a water tanker. They provided and coordinated the delivery of bottled water through the fire company to elderly homeowners who could not transport water from the tanker to their homes.
Aqua continued to supply the community with water until they were able to bring the plant up-to-date to meet the DEP’s approval. They flushed the lines and we were all able to go back to our normal routine of having water we could drink fresh from our taps.
After that, Aqua immediately began checking the town for weak areas in the water supply where there was low service. Within the first year they installed new lines in those areas, and have made several new lines, in some areas replacing 100-year-old pipe. Prior to that, they replaced several thousand feet of pipe that needed immediate attention.
Throughout this time, the community has seen little or no increase in our water bills. Aqua has not priced our water out of touch with what people can afford to pay for. I think the people are willing to pay an increase for the service. Aqua has the resources to implement a capital program without putting an undue burden on its customers.”
Barry Louise
Customer, Aqua Pennsylvania